Cyber Punk

Cyber punk is something that is pretty new to me, I hadn't really been involved in it before class and to be honest, don't think that ill be sticking around. I watched two different movies, Ghost in the shell by mistake, and then blade runner. Im actually very happy that I did this because even though I enjoyed ghost in the shell, I could not stand blade runner. I can't hold it against the movie its self, its outdated and not my taste. Noir films generally bore me and there all pretty predictable. It was interesting at times, and there were a few good moments but at as a whole, the noir thing really just shut me off for the most of it. The story line wasn't bad, but the clicheness of it was what ruined it. Ghost in the shell on the other hand, was interesting. Cyborgs are always an interesting subject if don't right and they were in this instance. The whole ideal of a artificial intelligence becoming self aware was a welcomed twist, and then it binding with a live (semi)biological (mind at least) was also new to me. True, at its heart ghost in the shell is also just another detective and cop story, but it was interesting, intriguing and you really didn't know what exact ally was going to happen next. I also enjoyed the way that the cyber part was handled in ghost in the shell better. In blade runner it get forced. True its an old movie, but allot of it seemed phony. Ghost in the shell however, it seemed pretty natural. There wasn't any time where it was trying to shove some cool space agae technology in your face to gawk at the special effects, if there was something cool and new, like say , the tank, it wasn't all in your face, it just interacted with the other characters like any other piece of doldrums machinery would. So in the end, if I can find some more ghost in the shell, or similar cyberpunk themed movies/books ill give the genera another try, but if all I can find is noir blade runner re dos? Ill have to pass it off to another person. 

Fahrenheit 451

Fahrenheit 451 is a classic among books. The typical dystopian novel its about a future where were ruled by an oppressing government strives to brainwash everyone through the tv and elimination any signs of free speech. I actually truly enjoyed the story line. We follow Guy Montag though out his life, seeing him from what appears to be a well off citizen, obeys the rules and heading towards a promotion at his job, to a run away criminal. His character really excited me, he was very mundane but in an interesting way if that can make sense. He does his duty at work, comes home, eats sleeps and wakes up to do it again. Hes not the type to create waves, but also in my opinion not the type for law enforcement. I question the reason he became a fire fighter in the first place. He dosent really seem to have a joy for it like his commanding officer, and he seems to go through every day with a ho hum feeling about him. I assumed that he just did it for the money, just like thousands if not millions of americans do every day in the real world. His wife was a perfect character to show what the government was doing to people. She really  and truly believed that the people in the tv cared about her, that the 'man' or the government gave thought to her as an individual and not part of the mass. She did what she was told and was very obedient and reliant on the tv. Even at the beginning she's seen to be distant from montag because she's watching the tv. As the movie progresses, we see the government brainwashing go even further when they treat her for an overdose and she comes out of it even more comatose to her surroundings than before. The one difference it seams is that she is very sexually aroused most of the time, another plot form the government to control the masses by giving the male, or the head of the house, something to placate him into a happy and un eventful life. His neighbor who he meets on the train in be begining is the opposite of his wife, which is odd, because he says that there very alike, though he maybe saying that for conversation sake. She turns out to be part of a secret underground organization of sorts of people that keep books and ends up running off in the end when she's caught. I feel that when Montag meets her in the beginning tho, he starts to question things about his life, starts to pay attention more. Its not till he witnesses a woman set her self on fire with her books that he fully realizes the importance of these things. The government takes them away form us so that we arnt exposed to anything negative, any thing disturbing or anything that they don't want us to be feeling. Books open a world of there own, they can make you angry, they can make you cry (as the guest of his wires did as he was reading a book) and they can make you think and feel in was that you never would have drept with out reading them. In the end, after being discovered/turned in by his wife (brainwashed so badly she would turn her own husband in for him having a few books) he runs to a commune of people who have memorized books, thinking this will in the end enable them to recite them at a later date for them to be written down again. This is proven faulty when the boy in the end, who was memorizing a book form a man on his death bed, recited it wrong after the man had died. This is a prime example of the government taking something away form us that they thing is going to promote free thinking, and turning it into something evil and hated. Weather it be religion,drugs, books, internet or anything else that the government trys to censor or eliminate there will always be people that cannot be fooled and will hold onto the traditions the they know is right, and won't become a mindless drone of the government. 

The stars my destination

Space opera, the first thing that comes to mind when presented with this theme for me was the 5th element. Upon the spaceship cruse there is, in the literal sense a space opera, aliens singing operetta in the vast expanse of space. Detaching my self of this idea I'm brought into the book The stars my destination, a classic space opera piece of fiction. 

You have in the beginning the man, Gulliver Foyle, stranded alone on his ship marooned to die in the vastness of space. He is shire to die if he didn't find a way to get off the ship and make it onto another planet with out being caught up in the war. He finally sees a ship the Vorga, and sends off flares for them to rescue him, the ship carried on ignoring him and he decides to set the rest of his life to vengeance on the ship that left him. To me, this whole idea of vengeance is very silly and childish. Yes, they didn't pick you up, but could you imagine all the reasons why not? You were in a war, they could think you were a decoy to lure them into fire, or a spy or any other countless reasons. Another thing that at this point perplexed me, was that only when he was shunned by the Vorga, did he get to repairing the engine on the ship. Obviously he could have dine it before, but decided to sit and wait for someone to help him, and only in blind rage did he find the motivation to propel him self to actually doing something to help his own situation. This also falls into the space opera theme nicely, and takes out some what incompetent and lazy hero and places him on the path of big adventure and big space explorative flights. The rest of the book follows the theme of the space opera rather closely focusing around big explosions, girls romance intrigue and our hero wiggling his way out of a number of situations and to be honest, it was quite like a Micheal bay movie written down at points. Not much my taste of novels, but not Impossible to read. 

Warbreaker

Warbreaker is a book thick with both information and tale. Breath, the vital element to our lives, also played a major role in the book, abet in a slightly different manner. Breath is given to every human when they are born, this single breath can then be substituted if you have enough money with more which can give the person heightened senses along with other superhuman qualities.  There are many other fantastical qualities, mages, lifeless corpses, as well as a thick plot of political intrigue. This whole theme of tying fantastical qualities and human life is a theme widely used in the science and fiction genre.  The movies that were tied into this post also follow these themes, where in war breaker, there is a convicting tribes, in Coraline there is a conflicting sense of place. Coraline is torn between two worlds, not so much politically but more inside herself. She does not know which world is right or which is meant for her. The same can be said for Chihiro, or Sen as she comes to be known. She finds her self thrown into this new world, which she does not belong, and just like Coraline or Siri. This immersion into a strange new world, not familiar to the character can be linked with  biases and predigest of our kind. Many people not unlike Siri and Vivenna have been in one place for all of there lives, such as modern day america. When up rooted to some where else, such as Hallendren, or exposed to there belief or customs of another land like the middle east. We are scared, we cast predigest and type casting. We don't understand them, and its unlike what we believe so it must be evil, it must be rebellious or demonic or untrustworthy. This is an age old battle of ideals and ways of life is going to sadly be prevalent in almost all cultures till the end of time, thus entangling novels into these themes of alienation in a strange world having customs that we may not understand, but need to embrace for us to be able to assimilate, or escape.

American Gods

In Neil Gaimans American gods Shadow is faced with many interesting characters and situations. Being torn from his instutionilized world of prision life, to a world of gods and magic by the mysterious Mr Wednesday. He has to learn to adjust to not only the shock of his wife dying, but also to the shock of her cheating on him with his best friend. Mr. Wendsday in a way is a path to get away from that. He is a stranger that shows up in a strange time. the idea of fate is very prevalent in this. He is a pathway away from the things that shadow docent want to admit to him self, nor wants to experience. He goes to her funeral and then thinks its over. Only when he sees her again, the mud and dirt from climbing  out of her grave does he understand that he cannot run away from what had happened. He begins on his long journey, and this is what is fascinating about the book. Neil Gainman is a fantastic author and the way that he interwinds different story lines and different religions and cultures is magnificent. We follow shadow through a number of lines, including norse, egyptian, african, middle eastern, indian and cultures which time has forgotten. The life that he gives to each of these gods really brings them together and makes the story, although it is quite fragmented, flow very nicely. The new gods are also dealt with in a very good way, the crude and blunt way that they speak and are described I believe really fits there character and what they are to represent. The old gods are bathed in this light, they are beautiful, and although flawed, are a higher stature than anything else. They are regal and at the same time, are forgotten by there foliowers. The new gods are crude, they talk with curses and threats, not like the old gods, who challenge to duels, formal events with honor and dignity. Through this he build a parallel, using shadow as a guide to show us where we were, and where were going. 

Harry Potter

Harry Potter is undoubtably a phenomenon among todays youth and older generations. For some people it has encapsulated there child hood and followed them all the way to becoming adults. Growing up figuratively and literally with these characters has created bonds and ties that most people can't compare to any other piece of literature. We apply it to our lives, our friends, you can't make a Harry Potter reference with out at least one person being in on the joke. The books them selves are masterpieces of character development, the sheer time and effort that rowling takes to tell you about characters, and not only main characters is impressive. Each person in the series is handled very delicately, she develops the character to a limit, then leaves you with enough questions to make you keep reading. As you read, you become so engrossed in the world of these people, that you feel ilke your there, at hogwarts. You feel that Harrys friends are your fiends too, and so then are his losses. This brings me to the fact of character death, Rowling does something astounding in the amount of characters she kills, when she kills them and how important they are.  The first death is Cedric, its placed far enough into the books as to not deter early readers, but early enough to grab devoted readers and throw them into a state of panic when a pretty relevant and loved character is murdered by the dark lord. This makes fans panic, if she was going to kill off one character, are any of the others safe? After Siriuses death, the fear and intrigue ran rampant, no one was safe, no one knew who was going to die next, it could be any one no matter how close or important to the story. This combines with a following that only fueled its self, and a phenomenon is born. 

The Hobbit

In the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins resides in the calm area of Hobbiton, where he leads a slow and happy life. He is visited by Gandalf, one day and was offered the proposition of being a part of a journey to help a group of militant dwarfs reclaim there treasure. This is a prime example of the classic heroic journey. Piece by piece you can see the story follow the pattern set for it, Bilbos Innocent word of child hood is easily replaced by innocent world of peaceful village and the call to adventure is almost taken to literally with Gandalf calls(asks) Bilbo on a adventure (to help the dwarfs). The pattern thus follows the different "thresholds" or tests. The first, obviously being the trolls attacking and capturing them, and the belly of the whale is directly related to the cave Bilbo finds the ring in both literally and figuratively int a way.  The rest of the story follows the rest of the chart flawlessly and the story is almost predictable for this. You know that theres going to be another conflict of some sort because thats what the formula tells you. This to me makes the reading slightly less enjoyable. Theres no suprise in guessing what was going to happen next. In other books, such as next weeks harry potter it seemed to always be a suppress around the corner because there were no holds barred in minor and major plot twists. You knew Harry was going to get to voldemort in the end, but you didn't know how he got there or who was going to live or die, and there were defiantly some suppress deaths. With the hobbit, you can just take the chart and plug in any thing you want, trolls, dwarfs,ents, druids act act to the situations and you pretty much get what the hobbit is. This is to say, it is not a bad novel, Tolken takes the most elaborate world I have read and crams it perfectly into a digestible bit of the universe. He writes very well, and gives an immaculate descriptions of the surrounding and world. Which I throughly respect, but I would take character development over that most of the time. 

Interview with the Vampire

Interview with a vampire is an interesting story when you start to peal back the layers. Anne Rice did a fantastic job capturing what it means to be a vampire while taking it and brining it to the 20th century. Her stories center around Luis and Lestat, vampires who travel together. The story initial beings when Luis sits down with a interviewer and agrees to tell his life story. The tale begins with him loosing his brother. Wishing death, he comes across Lestat who grants him his wish only to bring him back as a vampire. This is the beginnings of a very long and very hard to describe relation ship between the two. Lestat seems to need Luis as much as Luis needs him. He feeds of Luis' companionship, needs it and Luis needs him to help him in his first years of being a vampire. Luis soon feels he needs to leave Lestat, but is forced to stay with him when Lestat turns a orphan girl into a vampire. This is very reminiscent to something a failing marriage might encounter. Many a failing couple will try to have a  baby to keep the marriage together, they feel that if they bring another thing into the equation that they must both care for, then neither can leave with out hurting something that isn't directly involved with the conflict. Luis takes Claudia under his wing as a child and trys to care for her the best he can. He forms a stronger bond with her than she does with Lestat. Claudia loathes Lestat for bringing her into the world of the vampires as a child. Many children of broken homes also share these feelings. They feel anger and hatred towards one or both parents. They think that there hard life, which is usually broken and full of confusion, is there parents fault. They blame them for bringing them into a world/family that they can not be trulyy loved. The parents cannot fully care for the child because they have to many emotions and time devoted into a broken marriage and a failing relationship. 

Monster Island

Monster Island was quite a interesting story, although at times it was a struggle to read though. In the beginning the droll tone of the main character talking about his surroundings and accopmyment really didn't set the story off to be the wonder that it was. Monster Island did one very interesting thing that really stands out in the crowd, It told half of the story from the perspective of the undead. It interjected science into the reasoning behind why a zombie is the way it is. Not in the crude sense that most of hollywood trys to make a zombie outbreak more appealing by adding some disease or virus to it, but in a real way explaining how the lack of oxygen would damage the brain cells. Real science that we all know to be true, and when you really start to look at it, makes allot of sense. Maybe all that was making these people into mindless night of the living dead esque corpses was not the virus/voodo/supernatural cause that was thrown at us, but more the side affects of that main trigger. Sure, there might be a virus that reanimates the dead but if there was no down time, there was no time for the brain to start to die would we be facing zombies as smart, as fast and as cunning as us? These are the interesting questions I think monster island subtly brings to the surface.

Another thing that was picked out from some where between the lines, although its almost right there on the surface is the juxtaposition of the military girls against Gary the 'zombie'. The girls were mechanical, robotic, almost dead to the world. They seemed to have no feelings, no thoughts and no free will. They were raised to be a certain way, to listen to there commander no matter what the situation, and thus were stripped from the very thing that makes us human. Our free speech, free will, our will to decide and think. These on the other hand were all things that Gary possessed. He had feelings, he made decisions he was for the most part a very smart individual. Taking what he saw and reaching to it, weather with emotions or instinct, he was reacting. Something we almost never see from the girls in the book. They never react to something. If there told to do something in retaliation, yes there reacting , but there not making the choice, there commander is.

Thus asks the age old question, whos the compassionate, thinking, feeling beauty [read:human, and whos the heartless, unfeeling, cold, beast [read:zombie]

Frankenstein

Mary shelleys frankenstein is a classic among horror. One of the very first documented horror novels it begs one simple question though out, what makes a man and what makes a monster? Through out the novel Victor battles with his decision to create his creatures. He's torn with the idea of the morals and the science,he begins to question him self. These creations are monsters by definition, horrible monstrosities constructed from different body parts, sewn together. The shear act of it would drive some people sick, but not Victor. He pursues the knowledge of how to make these creations, the one thing that he obsesses over. He finds out and creates his first monster. At first there is pride, but then he sees the monster and really begins to realize what he's done. He's disgusted by the sight in front of him, he descends into a sleepless night and is awoken by the monster. He then runs to the streets and later falls ill. This moral decision to bring this thing into the world aligns interestingly with bringing and raising a child. You may not be assembling it piece by piece out of bodes but your still building it none the less. The same problem of who is the man and who is the monster prevails in parenthood. Yes, a child might be a bad child or a 'monster' but is it there fault or there 'creators'. In the case of the monsters, I believe that Victor him self is the monster, and not the actual 'monster'. So this begs the question, are the monsters them selves bad because of there creator being bad? The same rule apples to children. If a child is bad, do you blame the child or the parent, is the parent being a bad influence, or possibly not paying attention to the child enough? These are questions to think about when analyzing a situation from the outside. The child might appear to be a diligent or a bully, but it might also come from an abusive home and all it ever has know was fear and violence. In this case, do you call the child the monster for the deeds its done, or the parent for teaching the child nothing but violence?